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Sierra Club Leader Will Step Down

By John M. Broder November 18, 2011 4:16 pmNovember 18, 2011 4:16 pm

Carl Pope, who has led the Sierra Club for much of the last two decades, is planning to leave the organization next year as it struggles to redefine its mission in a tough economy, the organization said Friday.

Bloomberg NewsCarl Pope

The move reflects a broader debate among many of the nation’s environmental groups, which are finding it a challenge to raise money, motivate activists and build public support for core concerns like climate change in the face of high unemployment and hostility from Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail.

Membership rolls at the Sierra Club, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious environmental groups, have dropped sharply in the current economic downturn and the organization has undergone a sharp internal debate over priorities. Mr. Pope advocated partnerships with business and industry on a number of environmental projects, alienating some of group’s older donors and activists.
Mr. Pope, 66, stepped down as executive director last year after 17 years, turning the job over to Michael Brune, 40, who came to the Sierra Club from the Rainforest Action Network and Greenpeace, younger and politically more aggressive groups. Mr. Pope has held the title of chairman since Mr. Brune arrived and will remain a consultant to the club until the end of next year.

Mr. Brune said in an interview that he did not have major philosophical disagreements with Mr. Pope. Both believe that the group’s central focus should be combating climate change and supporting alternative energy sources. Mr. Brune acknowledged that paid membership had declined by about 100,000 in recent years, to just more than 600,000, but attributed it to financial hardship caused by the recession.

He said the Sierra Club had just approved the organization’s largest annual budget ever, about $100 million for 2012, up from $88 million this year.

Mr. Pope alienated some Sierra Club members by signing a four-year deal with Clorox to put the club’s logo on a line of supposedly environmentally friendly products, bringing the organization $1.3 million but, in the eyes of many, sullying its image.

Mr. Pope said in a statement released by the group that he would dedicate his time to working with business, labor, technology innovators and local government to strengthen American manufacturing. “To be competitive in the 21st century, a revitalized manufacturing sector must deploy clean energy, low-carbon fuels and sustainable technologies,” he said.

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